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Millions of Hindu devotees are bathing in sacred waters as the world\u2019s biggest religious gathering begins in India\u2019s northern state of Uttar Pradesh.<\/p>\n
Over the next six weeks, a staggering 400 million people are expected to attend the Maha Kumbh Mela, or the festival of the Sacred Pitcher<\/a>, on the riverbanks in the city of Prayagraj.<\/p>\n Every 12 years the festival carries the prefix \u201cMaha,\u201d which means great, as it\u2019s the largest gathering of the Kumbh Mela that\u2019s held every three years in one of four cities.<\/p>\n In Prayagraj, followers will bathe in the Triveni Sangam, the confluence of three holy rivers \u2013 the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati \u2013 to purify their sins and take another step closer to \u201cspiritual liberation.\u201d<\/p>\n The Kumbh draws upon Hindu mythology and the legend of demons and gods fighting over a pitcher containing the elixir of immortality. During the fight, four drops from the pitcher fell on Earth, in Prayagraj, Nashik, Haridwar and Ujjain<\/a>, which host the festival in rotation.<\/p>\n